


Comparative Media Analysis; Depictions of Torture in Media

by CavannaRose



Category: Hook (1991), Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Analysis, Comparative Media Analysis, Depictions of Torture in Media, Discussion of Perceptions on Torture, Essays, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 17:27:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10971960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CavannaRose/pseuds/CavannaRose
Summary: For one of my college courses we had to take two media representations of torture and compare them. For me I chose two of my favourite things, Hook, featuring Robin Williams, and Star Trek; The Next Generation.They have very different representations and I thought that was pretty interesting. I thought this whole thing was interesting. I'm sorry if its not. >.>





	Comparative Media Analysis; Depictions of Torture in Media

# Summary of Media Selected

The two pieces of media I selected for my comparative media analysis are both from the early 1990s, released within a year of one another. Each of them deal with torture as a state-sanctioned practice, though on slightly different scales and for differing effect.

In the movie, Hook, a grown-up Peter Pan returns to Neverland to save his own children from the dastardly villain of his childhood, Captain Hook, even though he doesn’t truly remember that long ago time. The pirate society is explored more fully than in the previous interpretations of Peter Pan, allowing us a glimpse into their terrible world, including the use of state-sanctioned torture as punishment.

The television series Star Trek: The Next Generation follows the adventures of a combined diplomatic and military crew of explorers for the United Federation of Planets, on a mission to “Boldly Go, Where No Man Has Gone Before.” (Robert Sheerer) In the two-part episode, Chain of Command, Captain Picard is kidnapped by members from a conflicting society, the Cardassians, and subjected to state-sanctioned torture in an attempt to break his will.

 

 

# Thesis

The 1990s saw a boom in depictions of troubling topics such as torture in the main stream media. The depth and scope of such depictions was as varied as the genres it cropped up in. From fun-filled family friendly romps, to serious sci-fi serials concerned with allegorical representations of modern issues, the darker side of the human psyche crept into our programming and into our minds. In some circumstances, such as the 1991 film Hook, the inclusion of torture, though meant to show the bad guys as villainous, was played off as almost a comedic aside, whereas other productions such as the long-running Star Trek: The Next Generation, tackled the intricacies of the effects of torture on the strong-minded and morally upright.

# Discussion

In the movie, Hook, the use of torture is very brief, but all the more poignant when framed by the context of the family-friendly film the scene finds itself in. The scene is a jarring right turn from the main plot, filling in some back-story to explain the time gap between the Peter Pan stories and the film, when suddenly a crew member is summoned forward. The poor man is shown to be terrified right from the beginning, simply the name of the punishment he was about to receive enough to begin the mental torture. He is then placed inside a chest, not that much bigger than himself, and closed in, confined. The other pirates gather around, laughing and giddy, and then proceed to drop scorpions one by one through a panel at the top of the box, accompanied by the gleeful shouts of “boo.”  

In stark contrast, Star Trek: The Next Generation dealt with the topic of torture in a stern, dark, and grim manner. Through a combination of a variety of torture techniques, the Cardassian agent attempts to break down Captain Picard’s mental state. The Cardassian uses such techniques as nakedness and dehumanization, suspension, alternating sensory deprivation and bombardment, drug use, dehydration, starvation, and physical pain. When unable to get the results he is searching for, the torturer simply attempts to break Picard’s mind entirely. Before his timely rescue, Picard is forced to look at a series of four lights, while punishment is applied trying to convince him to say there are five. The Captain admits that just before rescue, he had actually seen five lights.

In both situations, the perpetrators of the torture are depicted as villains to varying degrees.  Though Hook gives the villain a somewhat tragic backstory, a grown person who spends his life hunting children is hard to paint as sympathetic in any form. In Star Trek the Cardassians are a conflicting society, and in some fashion the measures they resort to are understandable, if reprehensible. The Federation is seen as being above such primitive methods of interrogation, whereas the militaristic Cardassians are willing to go to any lengths to achieve their ends. At one point the Cardassian torturer even brings his own child into the room, later discussing with Picard how the children of Cardassia are always taught about the enemies of their people and what they deserve. Picard says about the torturer’s daughter “her belly may be full, but her spirit will be empty.” (Robert Sheerer)

The real difference comes to the representation of the victims in each piece of media. The victim of torture in Hook is a member of the pirates’ own society, with full knowledge of what horrors await him. He approaches his torture with terror, fear, and the insinuation of tears. On the other hand, Star Trek’s glorious Captain Picard is seen as an individual of nearly indomitable will and unwavering moral character; the very representation of all that is good. It takes days, and a wide range of torture to even begin to break down this proud man. Even at the end, Picard is shown to marshal the last of his resources and proudly defy his captor. Particularly poignant is the fact that the show takes time to show him meeting with the ship’s counsellor afterward, discussing the mental and emotional aftereffects he was suffering.

Despite being the less serious of the two films, Hook seems to be far more sympathetic to the perpetrators of torture. Hook is shown to be outwardly elegant, and inwardly somehow lacking and worthy of pity. It is as if Hook is forced to punish his men with torture due to their own stupidity. In Chain of Command, the Cardassians are shown as overbearing, militaristic, aggressive, and smug. Moreover, it is made clear on several occasions that they have many other options to torture, and the main perpetrator is shown to even get some form of enjoyment out of doling out the torture, referring to Picard as “a challenge, perhaps the most interesting to come through this door in a very long time.” (Robert Sheerer)

The torture scene in Hook scared me as a child, but as I have grown older I find that the absurdity it is depicted in more disturbing than the scene itself. The overblown actions, the laughter, and the ridiculousness of the setting seem to made to minimize the impact of the torture, and to make you identify with the torturers. In Star Trek: The Next Generation the torture is stark, brutal, and seemingly without end. Picard is shown, naked and tormented, the physical effects played out so that their impact can be felt by the audience. Those watching cannot help but identify with Picard as he suffers the unimaginable horrors of torture at the hands of the Cardassians.

# Conclusion

The representation of torture in the two media pieces I selected could not be more different. One, a gross exaggeration to the point of ridiculousness, siding with the torturers and belittling the victim of the torture, the other a stark demonstration of the effects torture can have on even the strongest of individuals, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Torture continues to be a subject that oddly fascinates those of us in the Western World, and the accurate portrayal of such in media can help de-sensationalize it, making it more real and allowing society to accept the horror involved.

 

 

**References**

_Chain of Command_. Dir. Les Landau Robert Sheerer. Perf. Star Trek: The Next Generation. 1992. Television Series.

 _Hook_. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Perf. Robin Williams, Julia Roberts Dustin Hoffman. 1991. Movie.

 

 


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